Falling to pieces
by xNamikazeKyuubix
Summary: It was bound to happen sooner or later, when one was immortal and the other mortal. To be immortal, is it a blessing or a curse...well a certain immortal wishes she wasn't. One-shot! Character death! Fem!Kyuu! Sad-fic!


**Disclaimer: The sad truth is that I don't own Naruto or anything related to it... 'Breakeven' belongs to The Script...**

**First off, I would like to say that this story is a salute to and her ingenious and talented writing of Portal fanfiction with the pairing of ChellDOS (Chell x GLaDOS). In particular, it was her story 'These Old Bones' that inspired me to write a similar story except in a different fandom and with my favourite characters Naruto and Fem!Kyuubi.**

**In many ways ChellDOS and NaruKyuu are similar, with both couples being made out of one immortal and one mortal. And with both immortals having started out hating the mortals while both mortals tried their best to live with/ignore them, really almost a perfect similarity between the two pairings.**

**So anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

A beautiful young red-haired woman whistled cheerfully as she skilfully handled the pan of sizzling bacon over the stove, her other hand was busy with flipping the omelette in another pan. This might be a typical scene to most households but there was one glaring difference, the woman had a pair of orange fox ears on her head as well as nine bushy orange fox tails swaying behind her.

For this was no ordinary woman, this epitome of beauty was none other than the Kyuubi no Yoko. Hard to imagine this merry lady slaving over a hot stove as a humongous rampaging demon fox but fact is fact, whether believed or not. One lustrous orange tail moved on its own as it opened the fridge door and retrieved a jug of orange juice, pouring it perfectly into a glass cup without the redhead even turning around to look.

With the grace of a trained kunoichi, she glided around the rather spacious kitchen as she prepared various food items ranging from bacon to toast.

"Let's see... add a small helping of maple syrup to the stack of toast along with a dollop of butter." Kyuubi read aloud from an open cookbook on the kitchen counter. "Well not exactly your traditional breakfast... but those western countries might be on to something if it already smells this good in preparation!"

A few minutes later and she was gazing proudly at a tray filled with food, a plate stacked with French toast covered in maple syrup and a small helping of melting butter, a plate that had a neatly folded omelette along with slightly sizzling strips of bacon and finally a glass cup of orange juice.

She had a bright grin on her face as she remembered that it was Valentine's Day, her mind reminiscing about how much had changed since she had first met her jailor turned lover.

_Flashback_

_Kyuubi sat atop the Hokage Monument, specifically the head of the Rokudaime Hokage, her crimson eyes gazing up at the numerous stars in the night sky. Her blood-red hair flowing gently in the breeze as her sensitive fox ears picked up the sound of footsteps making their way towards her, a quick glance confirmed it was none other than the Rokudaime himself._

"_What brings you up here Hokage-sama?" She asked with a small grin on her face, knowing exactly what reaction she would receive._

"_Kyuubi-chan, I told you to stop calling me that!" The whiskered blonde male whined childishly._

"_Well now you know how Tsunade feels whenever you call her 'Baa-chan' ne Naruto-kun?" Kyuubi giggled as the identified blonde slumped his shoulders in defeat._

"_...beautiful isn't it." Naruto spoke up he plopped down beside the red-haired vixen, his eyes drawn to the night sky as well. _

"_You mean the stars?"_

"_Not only them but this whole thing in general... the peace and prosperity after the end of the Fourth, and hopefully final, Great Shinobi War... the fact that I can lay down here and not have to worry about some other country or village attacking us or invading our lands." Naruto sighed peacefully as he laid down on his back, with his red-haired companion doing the same not soon after._

"_I still remember the first time we met... and how you almost crapped your pants when you saw me." Kyuubi laughed slightly causing the blonde to roll his eyes._

"_I was thirteen! What other reaction would you have expected me to have upon seeing two giant crimson orbs for eyes and a grin filled with deadly razor-sharp teeth...?" Naruto deadpanned._

"_Then you showed up again demanding I give you my youki as rent! That was really rude of you, not gentlemanly at all!" Kyuubi continued on as he had never spoken._

"_Oui I had been tossed into a chasm and I didn't even know you were female back then, hence not my fault."_

"_Then that old perverted hermit has to go and poke around with the seal causing four tails worth of my youki to burst through the seal almost instantaneously, ending in you being suppressed by a seal and him almost dying. You humans always do the craziest things for power..."_

"_Once again not my fault, I told the perverted idiot not to mess with the seal..."_

"_Then you went on a rampage against the snake-teme in the four-tailed form, taking my power without asking again... you really have no manners do you?"_

"_...are you trying to make me feel guilty or something?" Naruto could feel his eyebrow twitching._

"_Then you confronted the Uchiha... again drawing on my power. You can't do anything without me can you?" Kyuubi asked humorously, he was about to object that statement when she continued on with a noticeably softer tone. "Then the Uchiha came in... he intruded into our territory... he controlled me and subdued me with those eyes... those malice-filled eyes like that of his forefather..."_

_Naruto's glare softened and he shifted so that the demoness' head laid in his lap, his hands running through her silky hair comfortingly as he felt her shiver in disgust at the memory._

"_Shh it's okay... there are no more Uchiha in this world..."_

"_... then again when you were fighting against your cousin Nagato. All your rage and sadness at your deceased friends and destroyed village, I could feel it through the seal... your anger resonated with mine and thus allowing you to draw out even more of my power... nearly causing you to lose your sanity."_

"_Then you met the Hachibi Jinchuuriki and learnt about how he coexisted with his Bijū and you begged him to help you... you confronted your inner darkness and embraced it instead of rejecting it like I had thought you would... you fought and defeated me, albeit with some outside help, thus earning you the right to access my full youki supply." _

_Kyuubi closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of his calloused hands running through her hair, it was a feeling similar to what she would feel when she gets pat in her fox form._

"_I thought you would be like the rest of them... using me for my power and never looking back... but once again you proved me wrong." They chuckled together at that before she continued. "You looked me in the eye... and promised to shoulder whatever hatred and malice I had stored up inside me over the years... you promised to return my powers once peace had been achieved... you promised to find a way to set me free..."_

"_You did the one thing that nobody else had even done... you got me to trust you... we fought side by side throughout the entire war... against Tobi... against Kabuto and finally... against Uchiha Sasuke... it was then that it happened..." Kyuubi trailed off as she opened her beautiful crimson eyes and looked up straight into his cerulean blue eyes._

"_...what happened?" Naruto asked with genuine confusion in his voice and eyes._

"_When he intruded on our territory again... trying to gain control of me with those damned upgraded eyes of his... but you came and stopped him... grabbing him by the wrist and throwing him out of the mindscape... you grabbed him by the neck and told him-"_

"_If you ever lay your hands on another of my precious person again, I will hurt you so bad that you would be begging for the Shinigami to come and take your life..." Naruto finished for her._

"_Yes... it was then that it happened... I started falling for you..." She whispered as she reached up with a hand and caressed the shocked shinobi's face. "It took a long time... but I found out what was the 'real strength' that the geezer sage was talking about... it was love."_

"_W-what?" Naruto stammered as he could feel the red-hot blush creeping us his neck and face._

"_The Sage never meant fighting strength... he just wanted us to live our new lives in happiness... he wanted us to know what love felt like... it took a long time but I finally understand... I'm in love with you... Naruto-kun." _

_With that said, her hand slipped behind his head and pulled him downwards so their lips connected. It was an upside-down kiss and it was awkward and sloppy but for them, it was a perfect first kiss._

_Flashback End_

Carrying the tray carefully, the redhead nudged the door to their bedroom open with her hip before quietly slipping in. However the grin fell from her face the moment she saw her husband's back facing her as he struggled to get out of bed, his walking stick held in one hand.

Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, former Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, would be turning a hundred and ten years old that year. His once bright sunny-blonde hair had faded into a white colour though it still retained its spiky nature; his once well-muscled and sculpted body also fell to the effects of time. Now where was originally muscle, was now just slight fats with skin over a frail skeleton.

Quickly placing the tray down at the edge of the bed, the beautiful redhead gently pushed the struggling ex-shinobi back down into bed with a stern look on her face.

"Naru-kun how many times do I have to tell you to stop straining yourself?" Kyuubi sighed in exasperation as she retrieved the tray and placed it on the table at his bedside.

"I'm perfectly capable of getting out of bed myself..." Naruto rasped with determination shining in his eyes.

"That's two things you've retained through the years, your piercing gaze and that damned stubborn streak of yours..." She snorted in amusement when he put on a mock look of hurt.

"Stubborn... me? You must be joking Kyuu-chan... that's called determination!" He burst out laughing before it degenerated into a coughing fit that had her worriedly stroking his back. Once the fit had passed, the demoness caressed his pale wrinkled cheek before placing a loving kiss on his lips.

His kiss was no longer passionate or fiery and his lips were parched and dry but she could still feel the immense love he had for her through it. A tear squeezed out through the corner of her eye, a pale wrinkled hand reached up slowly and wiped it off her cheek.

"You know I can't stand it when you cry..." Naruto whispered with a small smile on his face.

Kyuubi ignored him as she placed another kiss on his lips before kissing down to the juncture of his neck but he pressed his forehead against hers to halt her actions.

"Kyuu-chan... my body can't handle that anymore. I'm not that spry eighteen year old anymore... my weak and frail bones can't put up with the stress... neither can my heart or lungs."

"I can change that... give you back an immortal body in your prime... but why? Why won't you let me turn you into a demon? Why? WHY?" Kyuubi shouted with a voice filled with sadness and frustration, tears trailing down her face as she clutched onto her husband's shirt.

"I've told you before Kyuubi... I am a human, not a demon. We are only meant to live life once and enjoy it to the best of our ability... plus I have already lived longer than any human before. Baa-chan... My friends... they've all passed on before me already. Please accept my decision Kyuu... I'm tired and lived a great life... with you and our family but eventually all great things come to an end." Naruto grabbed her hands in his and rubbed them comfortingly.

"I DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT IT! I'm a demon, I want to be selfish! I want to hold you in my arms forever and never let you go! I waited so long just to know what love is... what am I supposed to do when you're gone..."

Naruto did not seem surprised at the outburst by the demonic vixen at all, "You'll continue to be strong and continue to live... for the sake of Akane and Natsuki..."

"What if you were my pillar of strength... you pulled me out of the darkness and hatred... what am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you..." She looked up at him with her tear-streaked face.

"Hey you are the Kyuubi no Yoko, leader of the Bijū. You survived before meeting me and you will survive after I'm gone... who knows? Maybe you'll find someone else to-" Naruto gasped when he felt her grip on his hand tighten significantly.

"NO! There will never be someone else like you... only you have my trust, my heart... my love... there will only always be you." Kyuubi brought his hands up to her face and nuzzled them lovingly, though it did nothing to stop her tears.

Naruto could feel his own tears threatening his vision at the redhead's loving devotion, "I will always only love you too Kyuubi... if I could live my life over again... there is nothing I would change... except being less of an idiot."

That got a small giggle out of his beautiful wife, he chuckled along with her as they recalled just how dense and naïve he was in the past. Naruto sighed softly before closing his eyes and concentrating, feeling the flow of natural energy around him and slowly drawing on it into his body.

"Naruto what are you-" Kyuubi paused when she noticed the familiar orange pigments slowly forming around his eyes. She watched amazed as his pale skin slowly regained a healthy looking colour, then his thin body frame filled up a bit. He opened his eyes and she found herself staring into yellow pools with a black horizontal bar in the middle, the eyes of his Toad Sage mode.

"Come on... let's go spend the day together!" Naruto sprang up from the bed with ease, leaving a confused redhead to stare at him from the bed.

"Didn't you that you couldn't enter your Sage mode anymore?" Kyuubi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I said that entering Sage mode takes much more time and concentration than before. Thus I have been slowly gathering nature chakra and storing it inside my body over the past few days, so that I can activate Sage mode to allow me to spend a day with you outside." Naruto replied with a smile and held his hand out to his wife, who wiped away her tears before accepting the gesture.

The couple found themselves strolling through the park, both of them receiving cheerful greetings and nods from the village populace. They came to a stop just in front of a rather large statue in the middle of the park; it depicted Kyuubi in her fox form with Naruto standing atop her head with a Rasenshuriken in his hand. The inscription at the base of the statue read: Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto and Kyuubi no Yoko, the heroes and saviours of the Elemental Nations.

"I still can't believe they put up the statue even after I told them not to..." Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"Hey people need something to believe in and your actions in the war made you that something... besides, weren't you the one who kept bragging to Akane and Natsuki about the statue?" Kyuubi asked with a smirk on her face.

"Ahaha... yeah..." Naruto replied with a sheepish smile. "Where are my two little angels anyway?"

"Little? They're fully grown adults already Naru-kun! And both of them are out of the village at the moment, probably on some low-ranked mission since that's all we ever get after peace settled between the villages."

"Adults or not, they're still our precious daughters..." Naruto chuckled as they continued their stroll and found themselves standing in front of the new and improved memorial stone.

His hand automatically gravitated towards the names he was familiar with, slowly tracing each and every name absentmindedly until he reached two particular names.

'Uzumaki Kushina'

'Namikaze Minato'

"Hey Tou-san... Kaa-san... has been a while since I visited. Sorry about that but my body isn't holding up so well... how are you two... I hope you're fine. The Elemental Nations has been enjoying the longest reign of peace since the war ended... I'm not sure if it will last but at least I managed to fulfill Ero-sennin's dream..." Naruto whispered to the monument with his palm resting over his parent's names.

"As you've passed on the Will of Fire to me... I've passed it on to the next generation. My two beautiful daughters Akane and Natsuki... they will light the path for the next generation of shinobi... if there is still a need for us that is... I've done my part for our world... and I found a beautiful wife just like you said Kaa-san..." Naruto rasped out as he could feel the effect of his Sage mode slowly fading away, he broke out in a coughing fit as he collapsed to his knees.

"NARUTO!" Kyuubi exclaimed in worry, quickly crouching down and slung his hand over her shoulder to support him.

"... I can feel my chapter coming to a close. I hope that... I've made you proud..."

"They're definitely proud of you my love... I bet they're waiting to throw you a celebration party when they meet you again." Kyuubi whispered comfortingly to him, tears slowly building up in her eyes.

"...that would be nice... Kyuu... can you teleport us back home... my legs can't seem to... move for some reason..." Naruto felt himself being lifted up into his wife's arms in a bridal carry.

The ex-shinobi closed his eyes as flames started to surround them and opened them again a moment later to see the familiar walls of their bedroom again. The fox demoness gently laid his body back down on the bed and pulled the covers over him; she then crawled into bed beside him and held his frail body in her arms.

"_Bearing all that hatred must be tough... don't worry! From today onwards, I will share this burden with you... you're no longer need to be alone cause I'm with you every step of the way Kyuubi!" He shouted with that idiotic grin on his face._

"...Kyuu... I'm so tired..." He whispered, his faint breath tickling her ears.

"I know... go to sleep..." She replied as she stroked the back of his head with her hand, fresh tears leaking out from her crimson eyes.

"_If you ever lay your hands on another of my precious person again, I will hurt you so bad that you would be begging for the Shinigami to come and take your life..." He growled with eyes as cold as winter itself._

"Ah... so tired..." His voice was softer and she would've missed it had his mouth not been right beside her ear.

"Just close your eyes my love... everything will be alright when you wake up..." The vixen hiccupped as her tears flowed unbidden, her other hand cupped his gaunt cheek and rubbed it lovingly.

"_Wait you were a female all this time and never told me? Man this is even more shocking than Lee and Sakura hooking up after the war..." He muttered with a slight blush on his face at seeing her human form._

"... you promise?" His bright cerulean blue eyes had never seemed so dull to her before.

"...yes... I promise..."

"_You know I thought Tsunade-Baa-chan would've done more than punch me through a wall when she found out that you were pregnant with my child... still hurts like hell though." He grumbled as he rubbed his head._

Kyuubi watched through her blurred vision as his eyes slowly fluttered close, her sensitive ears twitched slightly as they struggled to pick up the soft words that escaped his lips.

"_Kyuubi you don't know how happy I am to have met you... you were by my side through thick and thin... you gave birth to our precious daughter Akane... you placed your trust and love in me... I love you so much... so... Kyuubi no Yoko... will you marry me?" He asked as he knelt down on one knee._

"...goodnight... Kyuubi..."

"...goodnight... Naruto... my love..."

"_Till death do us part? Hell no! Not even death can keep me away, I'll just kick his ass and come right back!" He announced at the alter with a cocky smirk on his face._

Her eyes closed but the tears never ceased, slowly soaking his shirt. She buried her head into his neck, seeking out the warmth of her lover and inhaled a deep breath of his scent. Eventually the demoness succumbed to sleep's grasp; her last image was that of his peaceful sleeping face...

"...liar."

...

Crimson eyes snapped open as a small gasp escaped her mouth; she scanned the darkened room before rolling onto her side as her eyes fell upon the empty spot beside her.

'Ten years... it's already been ten years and I still have the same dream...' The redhead sighed as she shifted on the bed but something hard nudged her in the ribs. Curiously she patted the sheets near her body and pulled up a picture frame, immediately a tear wormed its way down her cheek.

It was a picture taken a long time ago. In it stood a thirty-year-old Naruto on the right and Kyuubi on the left, he had his right hand wrapped around her waist. A three-year-old Akane sat on his shoulders with his left hand steadying her while Kyuubi had a few months old Natsuki sleeping in her arms. They were all smiling happily at the photographer.

Kyuubi pressed the picture to her chest in an attempt to smother the familiar pain building up inside, her pillow stained with fresh tear marks.

"...what am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you...?" Kyuubi sang softly as she clenched her eyes tightly shut, as if trying to escape the pain of reality. "...what am I supposed say when I'm all chocked up that you're not here...?"

"I'm falling to pieces...yeah..."

She imagined his face as she remembered his hugs... his caresses... his kisses...

"I'm falling to... pie-ces..."

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**Well that is my best attempt at writing a sad one-shot that would match up to the one by . Hopefully she would stumble across this and give it a read...**

**So please review and let me know what you think and any pointers if you have... hopefully it managed to convey what I wanted...**

**Ja ne.**


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